The Great Husband Hunt
by TrailingJasmine
Summary: Yep, it's another Alanna went to the convent story, but starts from when she goes to court after she's left the convent.
1. Thom Comes Home

Alanna of Trebond was not happy. She stood at the top of the stairs leading down to the entrance hall at Fief Trebond, surveying the chaos in the hall below her. Maids and footmen were rushing round everywhere, trunks were piled high, and her twin brother Thom was standing in the middle of it wearing a travel-stained cloak and giving commands. His red hair was tousled, and he looked exhausted, and very, very much older than she remembered. /i she kicked herself, iof course he looks older. He's been gone almost seven years, and you've only seen him twice since then./i  
  
It was at this point that Thom looked up, and seeing his sister standing there, looking down upon him disapprovingly, he called up to her. 'Alanna! Come down and give your brother a welcome, won't you?' Grimacing, Alanna walked slowly down the stairs. When she got to the bottom and stood there, motionless, Thom grinned at her. 'You've grown up. Still sore that you had to go to the convent, and I got to be a knight?'  
  
'Shut up, Thom,' Alanna said, and hugged him. 'Just don't... don't talk about it.' Alanna had never really got over the fact that after the first two months, which he'd loathed, Thom had actually come to enjoy his knight's training, and was renowned as an excellent swordsman at court. Alanna, on the other hand had never become used to the convent, and had been kept under a very close watch after she tried to sneak out into town numerous times.  
  
'Well, hey, you're coming to Corus soon enough,' Thom grinned. 'You know you've got to find yourself a husband.'  
  
'Yes, Cythera and I were talking about it the other day.' Cythera of Elden had been Alanna's chief ally at the convent, and had a secret bet on as to which of them would marry first. Alanna had bet it would be Cythera, and Cythera had bet on Alanna, and Alanna knew she'd got the better deal.  
  
'Cythera of Elden?' Thom asked, eyes widening. 'You know her?'  
  
'Of course,' Alanna snorted. 'She was my best friend at the convent.'  
  
'Everybody wants her- well, I don't, not really anyway,' Thom said hastily, as Alanna laughed. 'But she's very pretty, anyway.'  
  
'She is, isn't she?' Alanna said. She fully accepted that Cythera was far prettier than she was; but hoped that her red hair would count in her favour at court. 'How long are you home this time, brother?' She knew she had to go to court with him at the end of his time at home.  
  
'Only a couple of weeks,' Thom sighed, 'then I have to go back to Corus, and drag you with me.' He noticed Alanna's grimace. 'You may as well not waste the time you spent at the convent, and trust me that there are plenty of men at court that you will get on with, perhaps even well enough to marry.'  
  
'It's not so much whether I want to marry them, but whether they want to marry me,' Alanna sighed. 


	2. After Dinner

Hello, back again!  
  
Reviewers: Mango Sam: Maybe Jon, maybe not. If it is Jon, it won't be an obvious courtship on either part. And yes, I've updated fast!  
  
Eridani: I can't tell you the pairing, that will spoil the story! And trust me, it won't be rushed.  
  
Razzberrycat: yeah, I was trying to keep it an original start... and I guess I succeeded!  
  
Lilyfan: the Alanna going to the convent thing is always tricky, and from what I've read from the books, Trebond didn't seem to be an important or well known family, so it would be hard for Alanna to make a successful match at court. I decided not to start off at the convent because there was very little description of it at all by T.P., so it would be hard to set a story firmly there.  
  
Right, on with the show...   
  
After dinner, Alanna and Thom sat in the drawing room together, drinking coffee. Thom looked at his sister, and realised just how much she had grown up in the last few years. She had grown into her red hair, and her pale, almost translucent white skin made her seem brittle and frail. He knew, of course, that she was just the opposite, and that the men at court would probably go wild over her- if, of course, they could get past the fact that her family was barely known.  
  
'So,' Alanna said, almost teasingly, 'out of all the young men at court, which ones are the most eligible?' Thom looked at her, feeling momentary shock. His sister was so blunt about these things.  
  
'Erm, well,' Thom said, struggling briefly to think of whom there was. 'There's Raoul of Goldenlake. He's nice. And then there's Gareth of Naxen, who's also... nice, and Alex of Tirragen...'  
  
'That's all you have to say about them?' Alanna giggled, her eyes dancing. 'Come on, Thom; what do they look like? Are they rich? Do they have lands? Are their families in the Golden Book?'  
  
'Of course,' Thom said, flustered. 'Well... Goldenlake, I mean Raoul, is very tall, and quite broad as well.'  
  
'Do you mean that he's fat, or do you mean merely muscular?' Alanna queried.  
  
'Muscular,' Thom replied after a moment's hesitation. 'He's got dark hair, dark eyes. He's a good fighter, but he's not very clever. He comes from a good family; well, they all do at court.' Thom paused. 'Then there's Gareth of Naxen. His father, who's also called Gareth, is one of the King's greatest friends. Gareth the Elder is in charge of the pages and squires; he's a good man. His son is very like him, and he looked after me a lot in the first few weeks. If it hadn't been for Gary, Alanna, I would have been back here within a month.'  
  
'What does he look like?' Alanna yawned.  
  
'Tall, but not as tall as Raoul. About my height. He's got longish brown hair and light eyes, and he's an excellent fencer. Not quite so good with a proper sword, though, but he makes up for it by also being good at archery. Oh, and he's very clever. He should really have gone to the university, but his father wouldn't hear of it. His son was to be a knight, like him, and that was the end of the story.'  
  
'He sounds like a barrel of laughs,' Alanna said, rolling her eyes. 'What about the others, Thom?'  
  
'Patience, patience!' Thom said, grinning at his sister. 'I hardly think the young men of the court will appreciate my taking them to pieces like this; or indeed, the fact that you are listening quite so intently.'  
  
'Oh, shush,' Alanna muttered. 'You know I have to make a good match, it's entirely necessary for the future of this fief, what with Father dead, and you... well, you not really very rich at all and having to spend all your time on border patrol.'  
  
'Who else is there?' Thom said, choosing to bypass the accurate appraisal of the situation by his sister. 'Alex of Tirragen... he doesn't say much, really. He's the best swordsman at court, better than me. He's one of those people for whom actions count more than words. He's a good man, but I'd prefer to see you with someone else, to be honest.'  
  
'What's Prince Jonathan of Conté like?' Alanna said, unable to keep the question inside her any longer. Thom looked at her in surprise, and Alanna swallowed, and said, 'Look, all the girls at the convent know there is a royal prince, who, at the moment, is about the right age for marriage.' Alanna looked at her brother's stunned face. Thom looked back at her steadily, before roaring with laughter.  
  
'You girls are priceless!' he said. 'I bet you already knew everything I've just told you about Gary and Raoul and Alex, just by the convent word-of- mouth. I expect you know more about Jon than I do, and I was his squire!'  
  
'No, no!' Alanna protested. 'I only know his name!' Thom was still laughing on the sofa opposite, and she picked up a cushion and threw it at him. 'If you're going to be like this, Thom, I'm going to bed,' she snapped, getting up.  
  
'Peace, sister, peace!' Thom said hastily. 'Sit down and I'll tell you about Jon.' Alanna sat back down, the misgiving on her face apparent. 'He's handsome enough,' Thom said, 'for a prince. Dark hair, dark blue eyes, but his nose is a little funny. He's tall, too, but he's not a truly brilliant knight, as Duke Gareth would say. 'No, he's just... he's Jon, and he's the heir to the throne. I think you'd get on with him, and as I was his squire, I can get you a better introduction than most of those desperate clingers you'll find at court.'  
  
Thom sat back a little, and looked at his sister. 'But come. You have told me nothing of the last few years. Did you manage to persuade the sisters to let you practise archery? And are you still using your Gift?'  
  
Alanna grimaced. 'Yes, they let me practise archery, after I talked them round into thinking that it was actually a very lady-like thing to do. Miraculous as it may seem, of course. And no, I've stopped using my Gift, Thom, what a daft question. I never liked using it, and you know that.'  
  
'I actually found it was easy enough to use mine at court,' Thom said, leaning in conspiratorially. 'You know when the Sleeping Sickness struck Corus? Well, I used some of the tricks Maude taught us to help save lives. And after that, the King's brother, Duke Roger, came and trained those of us who were Gifted.' He grinned lazily. 'I'm in demand, sister, as a knight who can fight and use magic.'  
  
'Lucky you,' Alanna yawned. 'I, on the other hand, am merely a lady with airs and graces far, far above her situation, who in two weeks time has to go to court and charm a witless man into marriage.' She stood up. 'And on that note, Thom, I'm going to bed. Goodnight.'  
  
'Goodnight,' Thom called after her as she left the room, then muttered under his breath, 'Naxen or Conté... one of them, if she plays her cards right...'  
  
Please review... and more will come. And I promise they'll get to Corus soon. 


	3. To The Palace

**Oooh, wow!** Lots of really nice reviews from people! I'm writing this starter bit now, and will add in anybody who reviews before I stick Chapter 3 up. Don't know how long it'll take to write it; the last one only took a couple of hours.  
  
**Reviewers:  
**  
Jenn jenn2: thanks for making me feel good about my writing abilities... I need people telling me that now and again!  
  
kiwi(): I don't know if George is going to come into the story[ :( ]... it's problematic because who knows how much exploring Thom would have done if he'd been the one at the palace? You'll just have to wait and see.  
  
**Chapter three, here we come...**

The next two weeks were busy ones for both Alanna and Thom. Thom had to sort out everything that needed to be done at Fief Trebond, because as he said, he had no idea when he'd be back again. 'Hopefully it won't be three years this time,' he sighed, 'but you never know.'  
  
'Those darn bandits,' Alanna said absentmindedly as she surveyed the drawing room. 'What's in the Trebond apartments at the palace by way of furniture, have you looked?'  
  
'You won't need anything from here,' Thom said. 'There's enough there. I think that was one of the last things Mother did before she died.'  
  
'Mithros, there's so much to think about,' Alanna sighed. 'Clothes alone aren't enough. Oh, and all of mine will look positively countrified and dowdy beside those women at court.'  
  
'So just take a few of your nicest clothes,' Thom said slowly, 'then have more made whilst you're there. Surely you thought of that?'  
  
'Money's short, Thom,' Alanna said. 'I'd have to sell things here if I want to afford new dresses.'  
  
'We don't need a well-furnished Trebond that badly,' Thom sighed. 'Sell a few paintings, if you can.' And so some of the portraits and landscapes which had been in the Trebond family for years were carefully crated up to be taken to Corus when Thom and Alanna departed.  
  
On her last night at Trebond, Alanna sat pensively beside the window, gazing out at the huge full moon which hung high above in the sky. Whatever awaited her in Corus, she wasn't sure she wanted it. Thom hadn't really said much about any potential suitors over the previous couple of weeks, and Cythera of Elden hadn't written from court. Alanna knew she was there; she had been due to leave a month before, and so by now would be fully embracing court life.  
  
'Whatever happens,' Alanna whispered quietly to the stars, 'I will be myself.'  
  
The journey to Corus was long and uncomfortable. Before leaving, Alanna had rushed to see Maude, the healer who had advised the twins against changing places. Whilst being bitterly upset at the time, Alanna had respected Maude's feelings on the subject; but in the years since she had often wondered how they would have fared had they switched places. Maude had kissed her forehead and wished her well, and her final, wicked comment as Alanna was leaving, was that she knew Alanna would be back with a husband by midwinter.  
  
'Hah,' Alanna had said. 'A Trebond? I think not!' When she repeated these sentiments to Thom in the carriage as they bumped slowly south, he shook his head.  
  
'No, no, no,' he said. 'You can't go in there with that attitude. You have to be positive, and smile a lot, and be confident.'  
  
'I don't need to have a husband by midwinter, Thom,' Alanna sighed. 'I'll start worrying if I haven't found one in two years time, but now... I'm just going to have fun and enjoy myself with Cythera.' Thom frowned at her. 'Oh, you know what I mean,' Alanna said flippantly. 'Play with young, impressionable knights, break their hearts into tiny shards...'  
  
'No, Alanna,' Thom said warningly, but his sister was already giggling.  
  
'You take me far too seriously,' she said. 'As if I'd jeopardise my chances like that!'  
  
Thom was still worried when they arrived at the palace, but the moment he saw Cythera of Elden greeting his sister with an affectionate hug, all thoughts of his sister's frivolity vanished. Cythera was truly beautiful; small, delicate features, huge green eyes and long, long blonde hair. Alanna faded to plainness beside her.  
  
'Thom,' Alanna said teasingly, 'this is my friend from the convent, Cythera of Elden. Cythera, this is my twin brother, Lord Thom.' Cythera dropped a low curtsey to Thom and said,  
  
'Such a pleasure to be finally meeting you, your lordship.' Alanna was desperately trying not to giggle as Thom stood there, eyes out on stalks at Cythera's beauty. 'Alanna, would you like me to show you to your apartment?'  
  
'Thank you, Cythera,' Alanna said, politely, and as soon as they were out of sight and earshot of Thom, the pair promptly collapsed into each other.  
  
'Your brother's priceless,' Cythera wept with laughter. 'Did you see the look on his face when I said 'your lordship'?'  
  
'Oh, Thom's such a wonderful, naive little boy,' Alanna snorted. 'Gods, it's good to see you again Cythera. I was going mad at Trebond.'  
  
'I bet. Oh, Alanna! It's so wonderful here,' Cythera said, grabbing Alanna's hand excitedly. 'Finally getting to put into practise everything we learned; and don't pull a face like that, you know as well as I do that you want to curtsey and use the right knife and fork for each course at the banquet tonight... there's no point in learning something if you're not going to use it, right? Oh, and I expect you can't wait for the ball next week...'  
  
'Ball?' Alanna said, faintly.  
  
'Yes, the annual ball for introducing young women into society. That is why Thom brought you now, instead of in two weeks time...' Cythera looked hard at Alanna. 'He did tell you about the ball, didn't he?'  
  
'No,' Alanna said, pulling herself together. 'If he brought me in time, it's chance, not Thom planning ahead.'  
  
'Well, anyway, there's the ball, which I can't wait for. You should see my dress, it's gorgeous... dark purple! I can't wait for to wear it...'  
  
As they half-ran down the corridors of the palace, Alanna realised that being at court had evidently gone straight to Cythera's head, rather like a well timed glass of wine. She wondered if it would have the same effect on her; at the moment she was very tired and just wanted to rest; the prospect of a banquet that night was not a pleasing one.  
  
But when they arrived at the Trebond apartments, Alanna breathed a sigh of relief. The bed looked comfortable and inviting; the parlour was beautifully decorated and furnished in a nod to her mother's excellent taste, which had never quite reached the drawing room at Fief Trebond, and the only problem was the rather large portrait of her father which hung above the fireplace.  
  
'That will have to go,' Alanna said firmly when she stepped inside the door. 'I can't live with having my father watching the whole time.' Cythera sent for a couple of footmen, who took down the offending painting. Alanna hid it in the back of the wardrobe, and then as she stood in the middle of the parlour, trunks and packing cases being placed everywhere, she sighed.  
  
'This is home, then.' 


	4. First Banquet

**Reviewers:**  
  
**S():** yeah, she's meeting the boys now. Should be interesting...  
  
**Mango Sam**: oooh, even I don't know who she's going to end up with! And yes, she's keeping up her archery... as you'll see.  
  
**lilyfan():** I'm going to try to bring George in... don't know. Will have to write it first and see how it goes.  
  
**Chickenpuffs:** erm, all I can say is that you really must be high on sugar!  
  
**Here we go**....  
  
Later that afternoon, Cythera came back and the two girls prepared for the banquet together. Cythera frowned over Alanna's clothes, and said, 'You'll have to get something smarter than these old things for the ball, Al. I think I know the perfect place in the city; there's a dressmakers which specialises in unique, one-off pieces. They'll be able to make something perfect for you.'  
  
'Hmm,' Alanna said. 'I just want to get through tonight... Mithros, I'm terrified.'  
  
'Don't be,' Cythera said. 'I'll introduce you to people. There's a lovely girl, about twenty three, twenty four, called Delia. She's from Eldorne, and she knows everything that goes on at court, trust me. She'll be able to find you partners for the first ball.'  
  
'Good,' Alanna shrugged, 'as I was terrified I'd end up dancing with Thom for the whole evening.'  
  
'You won't. Oh, you have to meet Gary- Gareth of Naxen, I mean. He's wonderful,' Cythera grinned. 'He's wickedly funny! If you ever end up dancing with him at a ball, he'll spend the whole time you two are together making snide comments about other people. And his father, Duke Gareth, is such a dear. I was seated next to him at my first banquet and he could see how nervous I was, so he just talked to me for ages about my home, because he'd known my father when they were training to be knights.'  
  
As Cythera chattered, Alanna felt her nerves steadying. She could do this. She had not been at the Convent of the Mother Goddess for six years and learned nothing. She didn't have to worry about anything to do with the meal- she knew which knife to use for fish, and which spoon to use for soup; or indeed about when to arrive or leave (arrive five minutes after the bell or gong has rung, and depart twenty minutes after pudding has been served). She just had to maintain a level of conversation which was acceptable to those on either side of her.  
  
'How is the banquet hall laid out?' Alanna asked Cythera as they descended for the meal, Alanna dressed in pale lavender silk which set off her eyes, and Cythera in dark blue velvet.  
  
'There's two long tables for court, and then another high table where the Royal Family and selected guests sit. You won't be invited to sit up there until after your formal introduction at the ball.'  
  
'Thank goodness for that,' Alanna sighed. 'I'm so nervous as it is.' And it was true; the butterflies were rising up in her stomach, and as they arrived at the doorway to the Great Hall, she was thoroughly relieved to see her brother standing there with a group of young knights who were obviously his friends.  
  
'Ah, Alanna,' Thom said, smiling when he saw his sister approaching with Cythera. 'Gentlemen, may I introduce my sister, Lady Alanna of Trebond? You already know Lady Cythera of Elden.' Turning to his sister, he said, 'Alanna, may I introduce Sir Alexander of Tirragen, Sir Raoul of Goldenlake, Sir Gareth the Younger of Naxen, and his Highness Prince Jonathan of Conté.' And there they stood; almost exactly as her brother had described them. She curtseyed neatly, and all of them, even Prince Jonathan, bowed.  
  
'Ah, Lady Cythera,' Gary said, his voice teasing. 'The last time we met for the banquet, it was that most delicious cured venison which you seemed to find so irritable. Alas! Tonight it is venison again.' Cythera smiled somewhat icily.  
  
'Than I hope they have had the sense not to try to smoke it to death, this time,' she said, pronouncing every single syllable so clearly that Alanna almost gaped at her.  
  
'Lady Alanna, your brother informs me that you are an excellent archer. Will we have the opportunity to see you participate in the ladies' archery tournament at the end of this month?' That was Alex of Tirragen, and Alanna, mouth dry, wondering how on earth she could get out of performing in public, said,  
  
'I should love to partake in the tournament; however, I am afraid that I failed to bring my bow from Fief Trebond.'  
  
'That will not be a problem,' Jonathan said almost immediately, and Alanna turned to him, startled. 'There are excellent armouries here at the palace,' he said quietly. 'A bow can be made to your specifications in a very short space of time.'  
  
'Thank you, your Highness,' Alanna stuttered, and curtseyed again.  
  
'Come, sister,' Thom said, and led her into the banquet hall after saying farewell to his friends. 'That wasn't so bad, was it?' he hissed.  
  
'No,' Alanna admitted, 'but Thom, you know I hate performing in public! And now I've got to go to this wretched tournament...'  
  
'You don't have to,' Thom argued.  
  
'I do; any excuse I had was taken from me by Prince Jonathan,' Alanna said, then gasped as she entered the banquet hall. It was huge; the two long tables at which most of the court was seated were crammed with people, and the sheer number of them almost floored her. 'I can't cope with this,' she said, faintly.  
  
'Yes you can,' Thom said, and gently steered her to her seat. 'Cythera's opposite you this evening; I'm next to her, and on the other side of her is Raoul. You're between Gary and Alex.' When Alanna opened her mouth to protest at being flung in at the deep end of the social world, Thom merely glared at her. 'You're a Trebond. You're my sister. You'll be fine.'  
  
By the time the soup course was finished, Alanna was certain of two things. Firstly, that her brother was a very, very popular young man. He seemed to hold the whole end of the table spellbound with his conversation, and Alanna was exceedingly grateful for that as it allowed her to make slightly more gentle additions to the conversation, which that evening seemed to revolve somewhat around old tales of their childhood at Trebond. The second certainty in Alanna's mind was that court was where she wanted to be. Whatever bug had bitten Cythera of Elden, it had bitten her too, and hard. The buzz of everybody around her, the pretty clothes, the civilised conversation, and the admiring glances thrown at her by young men... all these were contributing to Alanna's certainty.  
  
'You look lost,' Gary said to her gently in the middle of the game course, which was the cured venison (which in Alanna's opinion was delicious). Alanna struggled briefly.  
  
'Oh, it's just... so different to home, and to the convent, that's all,' she said, smiling wanly. 'I'm sure I'll be used to it in time.'  
  
After the meal, Alanna retired with Cythera to the Elden apartments, which were, Alanna noted worriedly, far larger than the Trebond apartments. However, that was not her greatest concern at that moment; what she needed to do, with Cythera, was to gossip and enquire.  
  
'Who was that pretty girl with the green eyes and dark blonde hair sitting at the end of our table nearest the Royal Family?' she asked. Cythera grimaced.  
  
'Princess Josiane of the Copper Islands,' she said, as if the words were poison in her mouth. 'She arrived about a week after I did, and she's after poor old Jon with a vengeance. But she still hasn't been formally introduced, so she can't get what she wants- a seat at the high table and a good, honeyed whisper in the Queen's ear.' Cythera sighed, and gazed out of the window. 'She's trouble if I ever saw it. Oh, but Gary was funny tonight! He kept making faces at me throughout the game course; I could barely stop myself laughing.'  
  
'You like him, don't you?' Alanna said, appraisingly.  
  
'Is it obvious?' Cythera asked, and when Alanna nodded, she grinned. 'He's so lovely. Oh, I wish this dratted ball would hurry up! We can't dance at the weekly balls until we've been properly announced, and I do so want to dance with him.'  
  
'The ball's the least of my worries,' Alanna said, 'I've gone and got myself roped into this archery contest.'  
  
'Don't worry about that,' Cythera said. 'You're an excellent archer, and you know it. Worry about the ball instead. That's productive, at least.' 


	5. Formal Debut

**I had things to say to reviewers, but sadly my laptop's at home and I'm at work, so hopefully comments on reviews will go up shortly. Enjoy chapter 5….  
**  
Preparations for the ball were in full swing the next week. Cythera took Alanna down into town almost every day to visit her dressmakers, as the design and fabrication of the dresses was proving to be problematic. Traditionally both Cythera and Alanna, along with the rest of the young ladies making their court debut, had to be dressed in white. The dressmaker, a Madam Heirat, decided initially that both Cythera and Alanna should wear satin, which would be light to wear and also would be easier for the palace laundry to clean than silk. "Not that we're ever going to wear them again, mind," Cythera groaned as they headed down the narrow streets in the Tailor's Quarter of Corus two afternoons before the ball. "It seems such a waste of money." 

Once they actually got to the dressmakers, however, satin and Alanna didn't prove a good mix. The sheen of the satin made Alanna's normally lustrous and shiny hair look dull in comparison, whereas it accentuated Cythera's almost to perfection. "Bother, bother, bother," Alanna said. "It's a perfect shape and everything!"

"How on earth are you going to get a new dress two days before the ball?" Cythera almost wailed. Alanna felt a bit irritated; surely she was the one who should be feeling upset; after all, Cythera was looking a picture already even in the darkened dressmaker's shop, without any makeup and with her hair in a tangled mop of curls.

"Leave it with me," Madam Heirat said. "I've got an idea, I think. If you come back tomorrow, I should have it fixed."

"Nothing too expensive," Alanna said hastily, praying that a whole new dress wasn't going to be necessary.

By the afternoon of the ball, Alanna was beginning to feel the onset of a real panic. She almost ran down to the dressmakers with Cythera, desperately hoping the dress would be alright.

Alanna needn't have worried. She arrived to find that a layer of white silk had been carefully sewn on top of the satin, and when she slipped it on, Cythera gasped.  
"Oh, it's perfect," she sighed. "You can just about see the satin underneath, too, but it's more muted." Madam Heirat too was standing back and admiring her handiwork.

"I think I've surpassed myself this time," she said. "That's a unique dress, and no mistake. That'll be three gold pieces, please." Alanna felt relief washing over her; she had worried that she would be paying as much as five.

Cythera and Alanna prepared together in the Elden apartments. Cythera practically doused herself in rosewater, and both girls applied simple face powder and lip paint to each other. "It wouldn't do for debutantes to be wearing too much makeup now, would it?" Cythera frowned. "Though I must say it'll be strange not wearing so much as normal."

"I don't care," Alanna shivered. Normally she got away with wearing nothing at all, and besides, she had more important things to think about besides a made-up face.

At quarter to eight, the debutantes were assembled in a small ante-chamber beside the great ballroom. Delia of Eldorne, whom Alanna had met and disliked almost immediately, was in charge of making sure they all looked the part. "Isn't she wonderful?" Cythera whispered in Alanna's ear. Alanna resisted from saying that Delia's patronising tone did her no favours, and instead said,

"Doesn't Josiane look a fright?" Cythera and Alanna had taken to sniping at Josiane in private, which whilst it was fun, had the distinct danger of being found out. Princess Josiane, her nose in the air, did indeed look a fright. Her hair was piled up high on her head, and as a foreign princess, she was wearing a massive sash in the colours of the Copper Isles. Sadly the colours of the Copper Isles did not complement the colours of Josiane's hair, which left her looking very pale and drained.

At eight o'clock there came a blare of trumpets announcing the arrival of the King and Queen, and they all rushed to line up. Alanna, heading for the front of the middle of the line, was dragged to the back by Cythera. "The later you arrive," Cythera said, "the better they'll remember you when it's time for the dancing." Alanna was especially relieved when she discovered that they would enter the ball room in pairs; so with Cythera, she took her place at the back of the queue, preparing to pick up her skirts. She could see the herald stepping into place beside the doors.

"I feel sick," she muttered to Cythera.

"Princess Josiane of the Copper Isles, and Lady Helena of Summervale!" With their formal introduction, the first two walked into the ballroom, heads held high. Alanna watched as Josiane almost led Helena down the centre of the ballroom to the royal thrones, where they both curtsied low; Josiane significantly lower than Helena.

"Someone's desperate for a Prince," Cythera whispered far too loudly in Alanna's ear, and received a piercing look from Delia for her troubles.

The line moved slowly forwards, until eventually Cythera and Alanna, as the sixth and final couple, were at the doors.  
"Lady Cythera of Elden and Lady Alanna of Trebond!" the herald announced, clearly relieved to be at the end. Cythera nudged Alanna, and as a pair, they walked together into the ballroom.


End file.
